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Hamas on Friday released 24 hostages it held captive in Gaza for weeks, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison in the first stage of a swap under a four-day cease-fire that offered a small glimmer of relief to both sides. Israel — wrenched by the abduction of nearly 240 people in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war — cheered as 13 Israeli women and children emerged free from Gaza. Most were in their 70s or 80s, and the youngest was a 2-year-old. Also released were 10 people from Thailand and one from the Philippines. In Gaza, the truce’s start Friday morning brought the first quiet for 2.3 million Palestinians reeling and desperate from relentless Israeli bombardment that has killed thousands, driven three-quarters of the population from their homes and leveled residential areas. Rocket fire from Gaza militants into Israel went silent as well. South African parliament votes in favour of closing Israel embassy, cutting diplomatic ties Increased supplies of food, water, medicine and fuel promised under the deal began to roll into Gaza, where U.N. officials had warned that Israel’s seal on the territory threatened to push it to starvation. But relief has been tempered — among Israelis by the fact that not all hostages will be freed and among Palestinians by the briefness of the pause. The short truce leaves Gaza mired in humanitarian crisis and under the threat that fighting could soon resume. Israel says the cease-fire could be extended if more hostages are released, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had received a new list of hostages to be released by Hamas on Saturday. But Israel has vowed to resume its massive offensive once the truce ends. That has clouded hopes that the deal could eventually help wind down the conflict, which has fueled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East. Israeli troops battle militants across north Gaza, which has been without power or water for weeks FIRST HOSTAGES FREEDUnder the deal, Hamas is to release at least 50 hostages, and Israel 150 Palestinian prisoners over the four days. Both sides were starting with women and children. Israel said the four-day truce can be extended an extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed. After nightfall Friday, a line of ambulances emerged from Gaza through the Rafah Crossing into Egypt carrying the freed hostages, as seen live on Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera TV. The freed Israelis included nine women and four children 9 and under. The released hostages were taken to three Israeli hospitals for observation. The Schneider Children’s Medical Center said it was treating eight Israelis — four children and four women — and that all appeared to be in good physical condition. The center said they were also receiving psychological treatment, adding that “these are sensitive moments” for the families. Israeli airstrike on south Lebanon kills 2 journalists of a pan-Arab TV station, official says At a plaza dubbed “Hostages Square” in Tel Aviv, a crowd of Israelis celebrated at the news. Yael Adar spotted her mother, 85-year-old Yaffa Adar, in a TV newscast of the release and was cheered to see her walking. “That was a huge concern, what would happen to her health during these almost two months,” she told Israel’s Channel 12. But Yael’s 38-year-old son, Tamir Adar, remained in captivity. Both were kidnapped on Oct. 7 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. “Everyone needs to come back. It’s happiness locked up in grief.” The hostages included multiple generations. Nine-year-old Ohad Munder-Zichri was freed along with his mother, Keren Munder, and grandmother Ruti Munder. The fourth-grader was abducted during a holiday visit to his grandparents at the kibbutz where about 80 people — nearly a quarter of all residents of the small community — are believed to have been taken hostage. The plight of the hostages has raised anger among some families that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to bring them home. Hours later, 24 Palestinian women and 15 teenagers held in Israeli prisons in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem were freed. In the West Bank town of Beituna, hundreds of Palestinians poured out of their homes to celebrate, honking horns and setting off fireworks that lite up the nights sky. The teenagers had been jailed for minor offenses like throwing stones. The women included several convicted of trying to stab Israeli soldiers, and others who had been arrested at checkpoints in the West Bank. “As a Palestinian, my heart is broken for my brothers in Gaza, so I can’t really celebrate,” said Abdulqader Khatib, a U.N. worker whose 17-year-old son, Iyas, was freed. “But I am a father. And deep inside, I am very happy.” Iyas had been taken last year into “administrative detention,” without charges or trial and based on secret evidence. Israel often holds detainees for months without charges. Most of those who are tried are put before military courts that almost never acquit defendants and often don’t follow due process, human rights groups say. According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an advocacy group, Israel is currently holding 7,200 Palestinians, including about 2,000 arrested since the start of the war. CEASE-FIRE TAKES HOLDFriday’s halt in fighting brought Gaza’s uprooted population a moment to catch their breath after weeks of fleeing for shelter, searching for food and fearing for family. After the truce began Friday morning, four trucks of fuel and four trucks of cooking gas entered from Egypt, as well as 200 trucks of relief supplies, Israel said. Israel has barred all imports into Gaza throughout the war, except for a trickle of supplies from Egypt. Its ban on fuel, which it said could be diverted to Hamas, caused a territory-wide blackout. Hospitals, water systems, bakeries and shelters have struggled to keep generators running. During the truce, Israel agreed to allow the delivery of 130,000 liters (34,340 gallons) of fuel per day — still only a small portion of Gaza’s estimated daily needs of more than 1 million liters. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are crowded into the southern portion of the territory, with more than 1 million living in U.N. schools-turned-shelters. The calm brought a chance for displaced residents of the south to visit homes and retrieve some belongings. But the hundreds of thousands who evacuated from northern Gaza to the south were warned not to return in leaflets dropped by Israel. Israeli troops hold much of the north, including Gaza City. Still, hundreds of Palestinians tried walking north Friday. Two were shot and killed by Israeli troops and another 11 were wounded. Sofian Abu Amer decided to risk checking his home in Gaza City. “We don’t have enough clothes, food and drinks,” he said. “The situation is disastrous. It’s better for a person to die.” Israel’s northern border with Lebanon was also quiet on Friday, a day after the militant Hezbollah group, an ally of Hamas, carried out the highest number of attacks in one day since fighting there began Oct. 8. Hezbollah is not a party to the cease-fire agreement but was widely expected to halt its attacks. A LONGER PEACE?The war erupted when several thousand Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking scores of hostages, including babies, women and older adults, as well as soldiers. The hope is that “momentum” from the deal will lead to an “end to this violence,” said Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which served as a mediator along with the United States and Egypt. But hours before it came into effect, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops that their respite would be short and that the war would resume with intensity for at least two more months. Netanyahu has also vowed to continue the war to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities, end its 16-year rule in Gaza and return all the hostages. The Israeli offensive has killed more than 13,300 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza government. Women and minors have consistently made up around two-thirds of the dead, though the latest number was not broken down. The figure does not include updated numbers from hospitals in the north, where communications have broken down. The ministry says some 6,000 people have been reported missing, feared buried under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its death tolls. Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, without presenting evidence for its count.  

Ofri Bibas Levy has been haunted by nightmares since Oct. 7, when her brother, sister-in-law and their two young children were snatched by Hamas militants from their homes and dragged into the Gaza Strip. In those dreams she sees her captive relatives, all except for her brother Yarden. That subconscious omission may reflect her ordeal: Only women and children are expected to be among the 50 hostages released during a four-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that started Friday. All of the men, and many women, will remain captive in Gaza for now. It was not clear if all children were expected to be freed. Hamas on Friday freed 24 people, including 13 Israeli women and children, 10 people from Thailand and one Filipino. “It's a deal that puts the families in a situation that is inhuman. Who will come out and who won't?” Bibas Levy asked. “The children come out, but my brother and many other people stay?” Her relatives were not among those freed in the first release. Israeli official says talks continuing, hostage release won't take place before Friday The deal will bring relief to dozens whose relatives are captive — as well as to Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of bombardment and dire conditions. But with some 240 hostages in militant hands, only a fraction of families will be reunited under the current arrangement. There is some hope that the agreement could be expanded: Israel has said it will extend the truce one day for every 10 hostages freed. But many families are expected to be left to endure the torment of not knowing the fate of their loved ones. Israel-Hamas pause in fighting to start Thursday morning, Egyptian state media say   The plight of the hostages — who include men, women, babies, children and older adults — has gripped Israelis. The captives' families have embarked on a campaign to free their loved ones that has tugged at the heartstrings of many and ratcheted up pressure on the Israeli government to make concessions and secure deals for their release. That pressure and the families' widespread public support could force the government into extending the cease-fire even though it has pledged to keep fighting once the current truce expires. Israeli Cabinet OKs cease-fire with Hamas that includes release of some 50 hostages Securing the freedom of all hostages, especially the soldiers among them, could prove difficult. Militants in Gaza see the captives as a critical bargaining chip in their war with Israel. The leader of Islamic Jihad, a militant group allied with Hamas, said Friday that Israeli soldiers who were taken wouldn't be freed until all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel are released. Bibas Levy has put her life on pause to devote herself to fighting for her family’s release — her nephews age 10 months and 4 years were some of the youngest taken captive. The occupational therapist who moved out of a targeted southern Israeli community two months before Hamas' attack, said she will keep battling until all her relatives return. Dani Miran — whose son Omri was taken hostage — has been distraught over his son's well-being. With the unbearable uncertainty and without a sign of life for seven weeks, he is plagued by difficult thoughts. “My son is not on the list. He’s 46 years old. and I hope that he is in a health condition where he can cope with all the hardship that there is there, that they didn’t wound him, didn’t torture him and didn’t do things that are inhuman," Miran said. For many families, the news of a deal has sparked a mix of emotions — grief in cases where they don't expect their loved ones to be freed and hope that it may lead to further releases. “I wish that all of them would come back, and I believe that all of them will come back. But we must have patience, and just be strong,” said Yaakov Argamani, whose daughter Noa, 26, was taken captive, along with dozens of other young adults from a music festival that came under attack. Many families have said they cannot endure listening to the news because all the twists and turns of the negotiations are incapacitating. The current deal, brought about after weeks of fitful negotiations, appeared definite until a last-minute snag prompted a one-day delay. “It's like a rollercoaster," said Eyal Nouri, whose aunt Adina Moshe, 72, was among those released Friday. Earlier, Nouri had said that he did not expect her to be among those freed. Moshe's husband, Said, was killed on Oct. 7. The nightmare for many won’t end even if their relatives are released, Nouri said. After the joy of the reunion, those freed will need to reckon with the trauma of their captivity, their dead loved ones, their destroyed communities and their country at war. “She has nothing. No clothes, no house, no husband, no town. Nothing,” said Nouri. Once she's released “she'll need to build her life from scratch, at 72 years old. Our lives are completely different.”

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Friday that China's cooperation is vital on an issue that has divided it and much of Europe: ending the war in Ukraine. She encouraged China to continue working on its Ukrainian peace proposal while also ensuring that Chinese entities do not aid Russia in what she called “the ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine” — phrasing the Chinese side would disagree with. “France underlines once again how its cooperation with China is essential to promote a just and lasting peace,” she said after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. "We are counting on the vigilance of the Chinese authorities so that no structure in China, particularly private, contributes directly or indirectly to Russia’s illegal war effort in Ukraine.” Her meetings in Beijing underscored an effort by both sides to continue a dialogue despite their growing differences, whether on the Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war or Europe's huge trade deficit with China. The talks in some ways foreshadowed an EU-China leaders meeting next month. In a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang earlier in the day, Colonna said their countries should work together to address issues such as climate change and biodiversity. A major U.N. climate conference starts next week in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “As big powers, we both share the responsibility to tackle global challenges ... and we can make concerted efforts in alleviating tensions around the world,” she said. China has been critical of U.S. efforts to seek the help of its allies, including in Europe, in its competition with China over trade, technology and security. It has accused the U.S. of building groupings to contain China's development and rise. Wang warned against the politicizing of issues and protectionism. The European Union has been taking a tougher line on China, launching a trade investigation into subsidies given to Chinese electric vehicle makers. “We believe that as long as China and Europe work together, there will be no confrontation between camps, no division of the world, and no new Cold War," Wang said. The Chinese government has refrained from criticizing Russia’s invasion or the Hamas attack that sparked its latest war with Israel, taking a different stance than many in Europe and the United States. It has accused the West of prolonging the European conflict by supplying arms to Ukraine and called for an end to the fighting in both wars. Colonna said that dialogue with China on the Gaza situation, and even cooperation, would be useful. She called for the release of all the hostages, including eight French-Israeli citizens, three of whom are children. “Every state has the right to defend itself, but we must cooperate so that terrorism is contained and so that what happened cannot happen again,” she said. Her trip came shortly after a delegation of foreign ministers from Muslim-majority countries and territories visited China and France as part of a series of meetings with permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to push for a cease-fire in Gaza. A four-day truce in the war started Friday. Despite their differences, China has been trying to repair its relations with major trading partners including Europe, the U.S. and Australia. The lifting of China’s pandemic restrictions last December has helped, making it much easier to hold in-person meetings. French President Emmanuel Macron visited China in April followed by Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire in July. “Relations between China and France are getting better and better in all aspects,” Premier Li, the country's No. 2 leader, said. “In particular, our exchanges at all levels are now becoming more frequent because many of the mechanisms have been restored.” Wang tried to reassure European companies that China remains a good and safe place to do business. New regulations have added uncertainty to the business environment and made foreign investors wary at a time when China is seeking investment to help revive a sluggish economy. “We will listen to the voices of the European business community, earnestly solving the problems of investors in China,” he said  

Israel and Hamas on Wednesday agreed to a four-day cease-fire in the war in Gaza — a diplomatic breakthrough that will free dozens of hostages held by militants as well as Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and bring a large influx of aid to the besieged territory. The truce raised hopes of eventually winding down the war, which was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 deadly rampage into Israel. Now in its seventh week, the war has leveled vast swaths of Gaza, fueled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank, and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a nationally televised news conference that the war would resume after the truce expires. Israel’s goals are to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and return all 240 hostages held captive in Gaza. Israel-Hamas pause in fighting to start Thursday morning, Egyptian state media say “I want to be clear. The war is continuing. The war is continuing. We will continue it until we achieve all our goals,” Netanyahu said, adding he had delivered the same message in a phone call to U.S. President Joe Biden. He also said he had instructed the Mossad spy agency to hunt down Hamas’ exiled leadership “wherever they are.” The cease-fire efforts hit another hurdle when Israel's national security adviser said in a late-night announcement that the deal would not take effect before Friday, a day later than originally expected. Tzachi Hanegbi gave no reason for the delay, but Channel 13 TV said there were still some last-minute details being ironed out. If implemented, the deal temporarily freezes both sides at a tenuous moment. Israeli troops hold much of northern Gaza and say they have dismantled tunnels and much of Hamas’ infrastructure there. But Israeli officials acknowledge the group’s infrastructure remains intact elsewhere. Netanyahu’s announcement Wednesday appeared to be aimed at public concerns that a truce will lead Israel to halt its offensive before achieving its goals. Israeli Cabinet OKs cease-fire with Hamas that includes release of some 50 hostages Israel has said it is determined to take its ground offensive into the south. That could be potentially devastating for Gaza’s uprooted population, most of which is squeezed into the south with nowhere to go to avoid the assault. Residents in Gaza City said the fighting intensified overnight into Wednesday, with gunfire, heavy artillery and airstrikes. Palestinian militants continued firing rockets at Israel throughout the day, without causing casualties. A DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHThe announcement of the truce capped weeks of indirect, stop-and-go negotiations to free some of the hostages taken by Hamas and other militants during their Oct. 7 raid. Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, helped mediate the deal. Fifty hostages will be freed in stages, in exchange for the release of what Hamas said would be 150 Palestinian prisoners. Both sides will let go women and children first. Israel said the truce would be extended an extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed by Hamas. Hamas said hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid — including fuel — would be allowed to enter Gaza. Netanyahu said the deal also included a provision for the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the hostages in captivity. The cease-fire is to take effect at 10 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) Thursday, according to Egypt’s state-run Qahera TV channel. Biden welcomed the deal, saying Netanyahu committed to supporting an “extended pause.” Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said he hoped it would eventually lead to a permanent cease-fire and “serious talks” on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s Justice Ministry published a list of 300 prisoners eligible to be released, mainly teenagers detained over the past year for rock-throwing and other minor offenses. South African parliament votes in favour of closing Israel embassy, cutting diplomatic ties WILL THE WAR RESUME?The war erupted when several thousand Hamas militants broke into southern Israel, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking hostages. Weeks of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, followed by a ground invasion, have killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. It does not differentiate between civilians and militants, though some two-thirds of the dead have been identified as women and minors. The ministry said that as of Nov. 11 it had lost the ability to count the dead because of the collapse of large parts of the health system, but says the number has risen sharply since then. Some 2,700 people are missing and believed buried under rubble. Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, though it has presented no evidence for its count. Hamas, meanwhile, will have a chance to regroup. Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar will likely present the release of the prisoners — seen by most Palestinians as heroes resisting occupation — as a major achievement, and declare victory if the war ends. STRIKES CONTINUEAn airstrike overnight hit a residential building in the southern town of Khan Younis, killing 17 people, including children, said Ahmad Balouny, a relative of the deceased. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies of two children pulled from the rubble. Outside Khan Younis, workers dug a mass grave for 111 bodies that Israeli authorities handed over after troops took them from Shifa Hospital and other parts of northern Gaza. Israeli troops had taken the bodies apparently for DNA analysis amid the search for hostages in the north. Strikes also leveled buildings in the Nusseirat refugee camp and the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The city’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said 128 bodies were brought in overnight after strikes. In northern Gaza, about 60 bodies and 200 people wounded by heavy fighting were brought into the Kamal Adwan Hospital overnight, hospital director Dr. Ahmed al-Kahlout told Al-Jazeera television Wednesday. Over 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced in the war. Many, if not most, will be unable to return home because of the vast damage and the continued presence of Israeli troops in the north. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, said that more than 1 million Palestinians were seeking shelter in 156 of its facilities in Gaza. The cease-fire deal promises an increase of aid to the south, bringing some relief to hundreds of thousands who have struggled to find food and water. Israel has barred imports to Gaza since the start of the war, except for a trickle of aid entering through Egypt’s Rafah crossing. A Qatari statement said the cease-fire would allow a “larger number of humanitarian convoys and relief aid,” including fuel. But it gave no details on actual quantities. Humanitarian aid groups operating in Gaza criticized the cease-fire, saying the truce was too short and the Rafah crossing’s capacity was insufficient to deliver enough aid to meet the urgent demand. The Palestine Red Crescent aid group and U.N. teams evacuated 190 wounded and sick people, their companions and some medical teams from Shifa Hospital to hospitals in southern Gaza, Wednesday, a Red Crescent spokesperson said. DEAL COULD DIVIDE ISRAELISThe return of hostages could lift spirits in Israel, where their plight has gripped the country. Families of the hostages have staged mass demonstrations to pressure the government to bring them home. But they could also find themselves divided as some hostages are freed and others not. Ofri Bibas Levy, whose brother, sister-in-law and two nephews — aged 4 and 10 months — are among the captives, said the deal puts the families in an “inhumane” situation. “Who will be released, who won’t?” she asked. “No matter which way it happens, there will still be families that will remain worried and sad and angry.”

Israel’s Cabinet approved a cease-fire agreement with the Hamas militant group that would bring a temporary halt to the devastating war that is now in its seventh week. The Israeli government said that under an outline of the deal, Hamas is to free at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack over a four-day period. Media reports ahead of the vote said Israel would free some 150 Palestinian prisoners and allow additional humanitarian aid into Gaza as part of the deal, but the Israeli statement made no mention of either of these elements. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before the Cabinet voted early Wednesday that the war would continue even if a deal was reached. South African parliament votes in favour of closing Israel embassy, cutting diplomatic ties Israel, the United States and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, have been negotiating for weeks over a hostage release that would be paired with a temporary cease-fire in Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid. Similar predictions of a hostage agreement in recent weeks have proven premature. Israel's army is widening its operations across northern Gaza, where it battled Palestinian militants on Tuesday in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp, the territory's largest. The military said forces are “preparing the battlefield” in the Jabaliya area, just north of Gaza City, and have killed dozens of militants in recent days. Troops discovered three tunnel shafts where fighters were hiding and destroyed rocket launchers, it said. Israeli troops battle militants across north Gaza, which has been without power or water for weeks It wasn't possible to independently confirm details of the fighting. A strike on a nearby hospital killed 12 people on Monday as Israeli troops and tanks battled militants outside its gates. Israel says Hamas uses civilians and hospitals as shields, while critics say Israel’s siege and relentless aerial bombardment amount to collective punishment of the territory’s 2.3 million Palestinians after Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel. Israeli airstrike on south Lebanon kills 2 journalists of a pan-Arab TV station, official says More than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed, two-thirds of them women and minors, and more than 2,700 others are missing and believed buried under rubble, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry says it has been unable to update its count since Nov. 11 because of the health sector’s collapse. Gaza health officials say the toll has risen sharply since, and hospitals continue to report deaths from daily strikes, often dozens at a time. The Health Ministry in the West Bank last reported a toll of 13,300 but stopped providing its own count Tuesday without giving a reason. Because of that, and because officials there declined to explain in detail how they tracked deaths after Nov. 11, the AP decided to stop reporting its count. Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the Oct. 7 attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders from the BRICS bloc of developing countries will hold a virtual meeting on the Israel-Hamas war on Tuesday, with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres also participating. The leaders of fellow BRICS members Brazil, India and South Africa, as well as of Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, which are set to join the bloc in January, will also take part, according to the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Ramaphosa will chair the “extraordinary meeting” because of South Africa's position as current chair of BRICS, his office said. It said the leaders are expected to deliver statements on the “humanitarian crisis" in Gaza and will likely adopt a joint statement. The meeting comes a day after China's top diplomat hosted the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Indonesia in Beijing, their first stop on a tour of U.N. Security Council permanent members. The meeting underlined China's longstanding support for the Palestinians and its growing geopolitical influence. Russia has adopted a more cautious approach to the Israel-Hamas war, but also has an opportunity to advance its role as a global power broker. Read: 31 premature babies are evacuated from Gaza's largest hospital, but scores of trauma patients remain  Putin has condemned the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants on towns in southern Israel that sparked Israel's offensive in Gaza. More than 12,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank. Officials there say another 4,000 are missing. But Putin has also warned Israel over its response and against blockading the Gaza Strip. Russia and China are leading voices in BRICS, which has largely cast itself in recent years as standing against the perceived dominance of the West in global affairs. But it has also struggled to adopt united policies or positions on many issues because of the differing priorities of the five current members. India, which also wants to be seen as a leader of the developing world, has long walked a tightrope between Israel and the Palestinians and historically has close ties to both. Read: Israeli troops kill 5 Palestinians, including 3 militants, as West Bank violence surges  South Africa has been fiercely critical of Israel over the war in Gaza and has filed a request with the International Criminal Court to investigate it over alleged war crimes. South Africa has for years compared Israel's policies in Gaza and the West Bank with the apartheid regime of racial segregation. South Africa's Parliament is to vote on a motion on Tuesday to shut down the Israeli Embassy and sever ties with the country over the war. Israel on Monday recalled its ambassador to South Africa for discussions. 

Yemen's Houthi rebels seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship in a crucial Red Sea shipping route Sunday and took its 25 crew members hostage, officials said, raising fears that regional tensions heightened over the Israel-Hamas war were playing out on a new maritime front. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they hijacked the ship over its connection to Israel and would continue to target ships in international waters that were linked to or owned by Israelis until the end of Israel's campaign against Gaza's Hamas rulers. “All ships belonging to the Israeli enemy or that deal with it will become legitimate targets,” the Houthis said. Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis’ chief negotiator and spokesman, later added in an online statement that the Israelis only understand “the language of force.” “The detention of the Israeli ship is a practical step that proves the seriousness of the Yemeni armed forces in waging the sea battle, regardless of its costs and costs,” he added. “This is the beginning.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office had blamed the Houthis for the attack on the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier affiliated with an Israeli billionaire. It said the 25 crew members had a range of nationalities, including Bulgarian, Filipino, Mexican and Ukrainian, but that no Israelis had been on board. The Houthis said they were treating the crew members “in accordance with their Islamic values,” but did not elaborate on what that meant. Netanyahu's office condemned the seizure as an “Iranian act of terror." The Israeli military called the hijacking a “very grave incident of global consequence." Israeli officials insisted the ship was British-owned and Japanese-operated. However, ownership details in public shipping databases associated the ship’s owners with Ray Car Carriers, which was founded by Abraham “Rami” Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel. Ungar told The Associated Press he was aware of the incident but couldn’t comment as he awaited details. A ship linked to him experienced an explosion in 2021 in the Gulf of Oman. Israeli media blamed it on Iran at the time. International shipping often involves a series of management companies, flags and owners stretching across the globe in a single vessel. Two U.S. defense officials confirmed that Houthi rebels seized the Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea on Sunday afternoon local time. The rebels descended on the cargo ship by rappelling from a helicopter, the officials said, confirming details first reported by NBC News. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter. That resembles other vessel seizures conducted by Iran, which long has armed the Houthis. Twice in the last month, U.S. warships have intercepted missiles or drones from Yemen that were believed to be headed toward Israel or posing a threat to American vessels. The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces toward the northern Red Sea last month. On Nov. 15 the USS Thomas Hudner, another destroyer, was sailing toward the Bab-el-Mandeb strait when the crew saw a drone, reported to have originated in Yemen. The ship shot down the drone over the water. The officials said the crew took action to ensure the safety of U.S. personnel, and there were no casualties or damage to the ship. Satellite tracking data from MarineTraffic.com analyzed by the AP showed the Galaxy Leader traveling in the Red Sea southwest of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, more than a day ago. The vessel had been in Korfez, Turkey, and was on its way to Pipavav, India, at the time of the seizure reported by Israel. It had its Automatic Identification System tracker, or AIS, switched off, the data showed. Ships are supposed to keep their AIS active for safety reasons, but crews will turn them off if it appears they might be targeted or to smuggle contraband, which there was no immediate evidence to suggest was the case with the Galaxy Leader. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which provides warnings to sailors in the Persian Gulf and the wider region, put the hijacking as having occurred some 150 kilometers (90 miles) off the coast of Yemen’s port city of Hodeida, near the coast of Eritrea. It later cited a security officer with the ship's company saying the vessel had been taken to Hodeida. The Red Sea, stretching from Egypt’s Suez Canal to the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait separating the Arabian Peninsula from Africa, remains a key trade route for global shipping and energy supplies. That’s why the U.S. Navy has stationed multiple ships in the sea since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7. Since 2019, a series of ships have come under attack at sea as Iran began breaking all the limits of its tattered nuclear deal with world powers. As Israel expands its devastating campaign against Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip following the militant group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel, fears have grown that the military operations could escalate into a wider regional conflict. The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to target Israeli ships in the waters off Yemen. Such attacks both back its Iranian benefactors, as well as bolsters the Houthis' position in Yemen as anger has grown against their rule in recent months as that country's civil war grinds on without resolution, said Gregory D. Johnsen, a Yemen expert with the Arabian Gulf States Institute in Washington. “The Houthis view the war between Israel and Hamas as an opportunity to mute some of this domestic criticism,” Johnsen wrote in an analysis earlier this month. “If they are attacking Israel, their local rivals will be less inclined to attack them.”

Health officials said 31 premature babies in “extremely critical condition” were transferred safely Sunday from Gaza 's main hospital and will go to Egypt, while over 250 patients with severely infected wounds and other urgent conditions remained stranded days after Israeli forces entered the compound to look for Hamas operations. The plight of the babies, along with the Israeli claims against Shifa Hospital, have become potent symbols in the devastating war between Israel and Hamas. An Israeli offensive has taken a heavy toll on Palestinian civilians, while Israel has accused Hamas of using Shifa and other hospitals as headquarters for military operations. The newborns from the hospital, where power was cut and supplies ran out while Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants outside, were receiving urgent care in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. They had dehydration, hypothermia and sepsis in some cases, said Mohamed Zaqout, director of Gaza hospitals. Four other babies died in the two days before the evacuation, he said. READ: Tens of thousands of religious party supporters rally in Pakistan against Israel's bombing in Gaza A World Health Organization team that visited Shifa said most of the remaining patients had amputations, burns or other trauma. Plans were being made to evacuate them in coming days. Later Sunday, Israel’s army said it had strong evidence supporting its claims that Hamas maintains a sprawling command post inside and under Shifa. Israel has portrayed the hospital as a key target in its war to end Hamas’ rule in Gaza following the militant group’s into southern Israel six weeks ago. The army said it found a 55-meter (60-yard) tunnel about 10 meters (33 feet) under the hospital’s 20-acre complex, which includes several buildings, garages and a plaza. It said the tunnel included a staircase, blast-proof door and a firing hole that could be used by snipers. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify Israel’s findings, which included security camera video showing what the military said were two foreign hostages, one Thai and one Nepalese, taken to the hospital following the Oct. 7 attack. The army also said an independent medical report had determined that Israeli army Cpl. Noa Marciano, whose body was recovered in Gaza, had been killed by Hamas in the hospital. Marciano had been injured in an Israeli strike Nov. 9 that killed her captor, according to Israel's intelligence assessment. The injuries were not life-threatening but she was then killed by a Hamas militant in Shifa, the army said. READ: 32 babies in critical condition are among the patients left at Gaza's main hospital, UN team says Hamas and hospital staff have denied the allegations of a command post under Shifa. Critics describe the hospital as a symbol of what they call Israel’s reckless endangerment of civilians. Thousands have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, which is severely short of food, water, medicine and fuel. Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan dismissed the Israeli military’s announcement and didn't deny that Gaza has hundreds of kilometers of tunnels. However, he said, “the Israelis said there was a command and control center, which means that the matter is greater than just a tunnel.” HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONSAbout 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mainly civilians during the Oct. 7 attack in which Hamas dragged some 240 captives back into Gaza and shattered Israel’s sense of security. The military says 63 Israeli soldiers have been killed, including 12 over the past 24 hours. Hamas has released four hostages, Israel has rescued one, and the bodies of two were found near Shifa. Israel, the United States and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, have been negotiating a hostage release for weeks. “We are hopeful that we can get a significant number of hostages freed in the coming days,” Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Michael Herzog, told ABC’s “This Week.” Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the sticking points were "more practical, logistical.” Israel's three-member war cabinet is to meet with representatives of the hostages’ families on Monday evening. SHIP SEIZED Yemen's Houthi rebels seized a Israeli-linked cargo ship in the southern Red Sea and took its 25 crew members hostage Sunday, an action that raised fear the region's tensions heightened by the war were playing out on a new maritime front. The Iran-backed rebel group said it would continue to target ships connected to Israel. READ: Israeli troops kill 5 Palestinians, including 3 militants, as West Bank violence surges Israeli officials said no Israelis were aboard the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, which had a mix of foreign crew. Public shipping databases associated the ship’s owners with Ray Car Carriers, which was founded by Abraham “Rami” Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel. Ungar told The Associated Press he was aware of the incident but couldn’t comment as he awaited details. A ship linked to him experienced an explosion in 2021 in the Gulf of Oman. Israeli media blamed it on Iran at the time. The Galaxy Leader was taken to the port city of Hodeida, near the coast of Eritrea, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, citing a security officer with the ship’s company. HEAVY FIGHTING IN THE NORTHHeavy clashes were reported in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. “There was the constant sound of gunfire and tank shelling,” Yassin Sharif, who is sheltering in a U.N.-run hospital there, said by phone. The commissioner-general of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said 24 people were killed the day before in what witnesses described as an Israeli airstrike on a U.N.-run school in Jabaliya. The Israeli military, which has repeatedly called on Palestinians to leave northern Gaza, said only that its troops were active in the area “with the aim of hitting terrorists.” “This war is having a staggering and unacceptable number of civilian casualties... . This must stop,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on that strike and another on a U.N.-run school within 24 hours. READ: Israel signals wider operations in southern Gaza as search of hospital has yet to reveal Hamas base More than 11,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities. Another 2,700 have been reported missing, believed buried in rubble. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants; Israel says it has killed thousands of militants. Attacks by Israeli forces and settlers have killed 215 Palestinians in the West Bank since the war began, according to Palestinian health officials. COLDER WEATHER ARRIVINGMore than two-thirds of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have fled their homes. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, is struggling to provide basic services to hundreds of thousands of displaced people. Seventeen of its facilities have been directly hit, the agency said. Their misery has worsened in recent days because of cold winds and driving rain. Over the weekend, Israel allowed UNRWA to import enough fuel to continue humanitarian operations for another couple of days, and to keep internet and telephone systems running. Israel cut off all fuel imports at the start of the war, causing Gaza's sole power plant and most water treatment systems to shut down. Israel has repeatedly struck what it says are militant targets across the south, often killing civilians. The evacuation zone is already crowded with displaced civilians, and it was not clear where they would go if the offensive moved closer. Egypt has refused to accept any influx of Palestinian refugees, in part because of fears that Israel would not allow them to return. But some patients and foreign nationals reportedly got through. Turkey's Health Ministry said it evacuated 110 people — including patients and their relatives — from an unspecified part of Gaza to Egypt. Another 87 people who were from Turkey or breakaway northern Cyprus entered Egypt from Gaza late Sunday, Turkish officials said, with the groups to be flown Monday to Turkey. Palestinian-Canadian Khalil Manaa, 71, left Gaza for Egypt on Sunday. After fleeing to southern Gaza, he said he and relatives shared a crammed home of 40 people. “And there, we also were subjected to intense strikes. … A rocket hit our house," he said.

Israeli forces on Friday killed five Palestinians, including three militants, across the West Bank, deepening a surge of violence in the occupied territory that has accompanied Israel's war in the Gaza Strip. The deaths raised to 205 the number of Palestinians killed in West Bank violence since the Gaza war erupted on Oct. 7, making it the deadliest period in the territory since the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s. Israel signals wider operations in southern Gaza as search of hospital has yet to reveal Hamas base Israel says the crackdown is aimed at Hamas, the ruling group in Gaza, and other militant groups active in the West Bank. But rights groups say the Israeli tactics, including deadly raids, home demolitions and arrests, are being carried out with increased frequency. The war erupted on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants in Gaza crossed into Israel and killed at least 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 others. Israel launched a war that has claimed over 11,000 lives in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to health officials in the Hamas-ruled territory. At the same time, Israel has cracked down on suspected militants across the West Bank. The latest violence began Thursday night, when Israeli military trucks and bulldozers drove into the Jenin refugee camp and positioned snipers atop several buildings, local journalists said. Gunbattles erupted in several locations, drawing in Hamas militants. At one point, an Israeli aircraft targeted militants who threw explosives toward Israeli forces, the Israeli military said. Airstrikes, once a rare attack mode in the West Bank, have become increasingly common since the war began. Three men were killed, and the Islamic Jihad militant group claimed them as members. Israeli forces raid Gaza’s largest hospital, where hundreds of patients are stranded by fighting Palestinian health officials said at least 15 people were wounded, four seriously. Patients flooded into the emergency room of the nearby Ibn Sina Hospital. But Israeli forces followed. The chief surgeon, Dr. Tawfeeq Al-Shobaki, said that around 4 a.m., Israeli military vehicles surrounded the complex and ordered the medical staff outside. A small group of paramedics walked outside, but not a single emergency room doctor left the hospital, Al-Shobaki said. “No doctors or nurses responded to their calls because our patients were very injured and some were dying,” Al-Shobaki said. He said Israeli forces interrogated the paramedics and then approached the emergency room drop-off area, but did not enter the hospital. Jenin's refugee camp, a densely populated urban neighborhood known as a militant stronghold, has seen near-nightly incursions since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, but Al-Shobaki said it was the first time that Israeli forces had ordered all emergency room staff out of the hospital at gunpoint. Israel said its forces had flocked to the hospital in pursuit of militants hiding inside ambulances — a similar claim it has made against militants in Gaza. “Because we have seen what has happened in Gaza, we still feel okay. We’re not worried yet,” said Al-Shobaki. ““But we never know what will happen next.” Also on Friday, two Palestinians who shot at Israeli forces near the southern city of Hebron were killed by Israeli fire, the military said. The incident happened a day after three Palestinian attackers killed an Israeli soldier and wounded three people at a West Bank checkpoint before they were killed. Israeli military forces raid Gaza's largest hospital in operation against Hamas The Israeli military said Friday it had already mapped the homes of the checkpoint attackers — a common precursor to home demolition. Israel says the demolitions deter future attacks, but Palestinian rights groups have long decried the practice as a form of collective punishment. “When it’s clear who the attacker is, they move fast,” said Jessica Montell, the executive director for HaMoked, an Israeli group that provides legal aid for Palestinians. “These days they are moving quickly.”

People in Madagascar trickled to polling stations Thursday as voting opened in a presidential election boycotted by the majority of candidates following weeks of unrest and court battles. In the capital of Antananarivo, where a night-time curfew ended two hours before voting started, many people said they were heeding calls by a collective of 10 candidates to stay away from voting booths. Opposition leaders and civil society groups had also called for a postponement of the election. The situation was calm in the capital despite weeks of unrest, but tension was palpable at some polling stations where some people refused to talk to journalists. At one polling station, people warned each other against making comments after being approached by an Associated Press journalist. Voters’ choices were limited to three men after 10 candidates announced they were pulling out of the election this week, alleging that conditions for a legitimate and fair vote haven’t been met. Andry Rajoelina is seeking reelection for a second term and is riding on a record of being the “Builder President” for infrastructure projects that some say have turned into white elephants. A violent crackdown on protests by security forces ahead of the election has tainted his democratic credentials, while a struggling economy, lack of social services and widespread poverty weigh down his popularity. The 49-year-old former DJ’s biggest challenge comes from a former ally-turned-foe, Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko. Randrianasoloniaiko is a wealthy 51-year-old businessman who is also the deputy for Tuléar city under Rajoelina’s IRD party in the island’s far south. He distanced himself from Rajoelina ahead of the election. A third candidate is Sendrison Daniela Raderanirina, a relatively unknown 62-year-old who has lived mainly in France to pursue a career in information technology. Rajoelina says he is confident, declaring that “no one can take victory away from me.” Opposition figures boycotting the election, including two former presidents, say he should have been stripped of his Malagasy nationality and disqualified because he obtained French citizenship in 2014. Rajoelina said he took up dual citizenship to secure his children’s education in former colonizer France. The country’s highest court ruled in his favor. They also allege that the national electoral commission and judiciary lack independence. Most of Madagascar’s 30 million people live in poverty in a country whose economy is anchored in agriculture and tourism and but is largely dependent on foreign aid.